Fingerprints
by Greg'sgirl5
Summary: A killers revenge on the CSI team.  Character return!  I think this has the potential to be a season 11 episode. :D Finally finished, please read.
1. Shock

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with CSI...If I did this would be a season 11 episode :)_

**Fingerprints.**

Shock.

She pushed back harder, feeling his breathe hit her face. The man shoved her hands against the cold brick wall of the Illinois 'Beats' club. His piercing blue eyes bore into her.

She grunted in pain as her attacker hit her across the face. Right when she was going to resort to calling out, he grabbed a cloth out of his pocket.

Her gut instinct knew exactly what it was. The smell of the fresh chloroform reached her nose, burning as it did. The cloth covered her face and she felt the edges of her world fade away from her.

The last thing she saw in the rain soaked alley was the neon bar sign before she faded into complete darkness.

XXX

The phone rang in the other room, daring him to move. He was tired, but he knew it was probably important. Shifting to stand up out of bed, Greg padded into his living room.

His cell phone screen was bright in the forced darkness of his apartment. He scooped it off the table and looked at the screen.

Seeing the all too familiar number, he picked up without hesitation.

"Hey Cath." He said groggily, his body yearning for more sleep. He heard her sigh on the other end.

Knowing what she probably needed, he asked, despite her silence.

"You need me to come in for a case?"

His eyes became slightly more adjusted as some mid-day sun peeked in through the thick black curtains.

"Ya... It's a kidnapping." Greg felt his finger twitch. He hated those. "Technically we shouldn't be on the case but I made Ecklie allow it." Catherine said seeming worried.

Greg knew what that meant. He knew that meant they knew the victim. He felt a few drips of fear fall to his heart. The same fear that had consumed him when Sara and Nick had been kidnapped.

Trying to stay calm he responded slightly louder than before.

"Who is it?" But he was greeted by a quiet Catherine. He could her her breath increase.

"Who is it, Catherine?" He asked again, his heart ready to freeze over. And it did.

"Riley Adams."

Her voice turned him to ice. Not Riley. Not her of all people. This couldn't be happening. She was in Illinois right?

A million questions flooded his mind in the millisecond of total shock.

"What?"

**Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh :) If this was an episode it would have gone to the theme song from there. :D I know it sounds stupid, but i can totally see that as an opening scene. Not the thoughts in their heads of course:) Any way... I'll be back with more! :D**


	2. Explanations

_Disclaimer: I don't own csi or anything... If i did this would be a season 11 episode. :)_

**Fingerprints.**

Explanations

Greg practically ran through the hall of the lab, after rushing down the busy Vegas streets.

He hurried into the layout room where he found the team waiting. Catherine was at the head of the table as always, Nick to her side with a stressed expression on his face. Well, they all looked stressed. Including Sara, which, if he had not been overcome by his worry for Riley, he would have been surprised at. Ray had his usual worried look and posture.

He moved to stand beside Sara, who was leaning against the table with her hands.

Ray looked up at him from documents with information on them.

Before he could ask what was going on Catherine spoke.

"Okay... So let's get started." She said awkwardly. Although he was absolutely impatient to hear what happened, he managed to be annoyed be her casualty. This was Riley, not just another case.

"A man named Louis Carson reported to the police that he saw a woman being put in a car, one alleyway south of the 'Vibe' club and bar. He didn't see the attackers face but the guy had a gun."

Greg could imagine them forcing Riley into a car. The vision froze him in place while Catherine continued.

"I was on call near there so I took the scene. I found some blood on the ground and tire marks. I'm thinking the attacker switched cars. Anyway, there wasn't much else and when I got back here, I ran the blood samples and the DNA came back to Riley Adams."

Greg felt his breath speed up. He glanced across the table at Nick and received a solemn look in response. He shifted his weight in worry.

"I phoned the police department in Illinois and they said she hadn't shown up for work there." Catherine said and provoked a confused look on Ray's face.

"Then she couldn't have been on duty. They wouldn't have the guts." Sara said quietly from beside him.

"Okay... But why Riley?" Greg couldn't help but ask, although he didn't really want to know the answer. This was beyond his belief.

"Well, it cant be random. She must have been targeted or she wouldn't have survived until now." Ray said in his low voice. Nick looked up at him.

"Revenge? Maybe she put someone they know in jail? It's happened before." Nick said, looking focused. Greg stared at him and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Catherine look at him worriedly.

"But then why bring her all the way back to Vegas? And why not just kill her?" Catherine said, making Greg slightly more worried, if that was even possible.

He couldn't handle this. First Nick, then him, then Sara, then Warrick and now Riley? His fear spiked instantly when he realized what Catherine meant. Riley might be dead. No. No, he couldn't think that. She'd survived this long, she could survive a little longer. But why hadn't they killed her already? He had to admit it was strange for a kidnapping victim, especially one who was a cop to avoid death for this long. Unless...

"To get to you. It's gotta be about the team." Sara said in a cold voice, reading Greg's mind exactly.

They all exchanged regretful glances.

XXX

The light flickered on and Riley could finally see where she was. The man stood over her, his hand still on the light bulb's string.

It was a small grey room in the basement of the warehouse they were at. The man had drugged her to get her inside, but not before she tried as hard as she could to leave a clue for the CSI's here in Vegas.

She knew it was bad that her attacker had let her know where she was. And where he was going to hold her. She knew what that meant. It meant he was doing this for revenge. Plain and simple.

"Mind telling me what the hell is going on?" She said harshly, trying to seem less scared than she really was. It seemed to work so she gave him a glare as cold as ice.

"I don't think you really need to know." He said almost mockingly, his cold blue eyes bearing into her, clearly enjoying his game. His head just blocked out the light, seeing as though he was so tall, so Riley had to squint to see his face.

She cocked her head to the side unamused, trying not to wince as she did so. She was still sore all over and there was a large gash on her arm. It was still bleeding despite her efforts to stop it.

The man stepped towards her and she felt herself lean back instinctively. The cold cement floor was hard as she slid to sit against the wall.

"But..." The man said, obviously amused. "I guess you could know... It won't do you much harm... or good."

Riley felt a slight pang of sadness. Now he was telling her why he had taken her. That was it. That meant she would die. Unless the team found her. They probably didn't even know she was missing.

"You see," He began like a father telling his child a beloved story. The thought was so far fetched from this situation, Riley felt slight goosebumps appear on her arms. "The Vegas crime lab, that you so loyally worked with, put my daughter in jail. Why? They found evidence linking her to a crime scene."

So that's what this was about. Revenge, just like she'd thought.

He stepped forwards again and she tensed, wishing him away.

"But she didn't murder anyone. Not a single person. But they linked her to the scene and we couldn't afford a damn lawyer." The man said, his anger coming out through his harshly spoken words. They were full of pure hatred.

"And she went to jail. Just like that. It was a shock for sure... But you wanna know the real shock?" He said and bent down to look her in the eyes.

"I killed them. Not her."

Riley couldn't keep it in. "That has nothing to do with me." She said briefly.

The man looked at her as if she had asked why the sky was blue.

"It's not about you!" He said, raising his deep voice. "It's about them! I've seen you with them. That Sanders guy." Riley looked down at the mention of his name. "Well he helped them put her in jail. And now you'll pay for the lab's mistakes."

Once he finished he walked away, and shut the heavy door behind him.

Riley took a shaky breath. She was going to die here. She really was.

**AHHH! :D Like it? I thought it was okay :) Hahaha tell me what you think! And thanks for the compliments from my readers, your stories are amazing too!**


	3. Stress

_Disclaimer: I don't own csi or anything... If i did this would be a season 11 episode. :)_

**Fingerprints.**

Stress.**  
**

Sara looked up from the tire tread half halfheartedly. There wasn't much here, just like Cath had said. Just a few drops of blood and tire treads.

Greg walked towards her, snapping a shot of the blood.

She saw Nick sigh and walk backwards, and from the look of it, try to picture the cars in his head.

Sara never knew Riley. She didn't know what she was like, didn't know what she looked like. She got mixed reviews from everyone. Riley wrote a bad review for Catherine, so that obviously made her a touchy subject for the group. But from what she'd heard, Nick seemed to think she was a great CSI. Greg had liked her, and told Sara multiple stores about crimes they had solved. It reminded her of how Greg used to act around her. She must have been an amazing friend to him. _When I wasn't. _Grissom seemed to have liked her too, saying she reminded him of Sara herself. She didn't know quite how to feel about that.

But none the less she wanted to find Riley as much as everyone else did. So she put her mind to work.

Just then she heard a plane fly by overhead and followed it with her gaze, reaching to shield her eyes from the sun.

And right there on the edge of a window sill was a gun. Her mind went into overdrive. Was that the gun? But why would he leave it? Maybe its not the gun. But maybe it is.

"Uh...guys?" She said in her usual tone. They looked up at her at almost the exact same moment, something they did often. "I think that might be the gun."

She saw Greg follow her gaze and spot the gun. And she could see the gears working in his head, trying to figure out why it was there. Poor Greg. She knew this was hurting him. He was rarely affected like this, which must mean he was extremely close to Riley. She saw the way his finger had twitched when Catherine had explained the details. She only knew this because of how long she had known him, but he only did that when he was really, _really _worried. Sara noticed him staring off into space every few seconds, like he was trying to wish her back to safety.

Nick walked to her side, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Maybe he saw the witness? Tossed it as a precaution?" Nick said, as he snapped a photo of the ledge.

"But if that's what he was using to subdue her, why leave it?" She said, stating the obvious.

"There's more than one weapon." Greg said, speaking for the first time in a while. She saw the brief look of worry in his eyes.

"Or more than one person." Nick said slowly, his face looking stressed.

This wasn't good.

XXX

Riley stared blankly at the door where her attacker had left. Her arm was on fire and she winced as she tried to move it. Honestly, she didn't remember getting the gash, but it hurt like hell.

She'd left as many clues as she could for the team, but who knew if they were actually looking for her?

If this was just some revenge plot, she wouldn't be alive much longer. The man would want them to find her dead. She thought of how that would hurt them. She thought of how it would hurt Greg. She cared deeply for him, he was an amazing friend.

She saw the team appear in her head. The memories flashed by, letting her see what she had missed this whole year. Nick behind the truck, when she and Ray had been held hostage. Catherine giving her a curious look when she sniffed the crack at their first scene. Ray smiling at her after their training routine. And her personal favourite, when Greg joked with her at the victims house. This memory was slower. Greg laughed and pointed a crop at her, telling her he thought she could do it... the killing part too. His sense of humor made it easier to do the job. They all did.

Riley felt her eyes tear up as she thought about it.

XXX

Catherine walked briskly into the layout room where Ray was staring at the time line.

"Got a call from Nick. They found a gun at the scene and they're leaving soon." She said and lent against the table on her elbows. Ray gave her a confused look.

"Why leave the gun?" He asked in his low voice, looking tired.

"That's what I said." She replied and looked down at the photos.

This was tough on the whole team. Regardless of the exit interview, which she was still pretty mad about, Riley had been on their team. She had become part of the family, and they had to find her. The bad review had clouded her thoughts of Riley, but she could still remember her hard will and lighthearted personality. She'd helped the team get out of the depression after Warrick's death even though they hadn't quite accepted her at first. Except Greg. He had a way with people. And both of them managed to help the team cope. But when she left... it broke apart again.

"They also said Greg found some black chips at the scene. They'll give it to trace and see what Hodges can find." She said and got a simple nod in return.

The pictures of the scene were pretty normal, tire treads in both directions, consistent with switching cars. A few blood drops, which had probably just fell when Riley was being moved. She knew Riley, and she knew she would fight for her life.

Her phone buzzed and she looked down, seeing picture sent by Sara of the gun. She let Ray take a look at it.

"No blood... They didn't shoot her." Ray said, staring intently

"Yet." She said solemnly. If this was indeed as plot to get back the team, that meant Riley didn't have long.

Just then Sara burst into the room.

"The stuff Greg found was black metallic car paint. And guess what police just found outside of Charleston?"

"Might be it... But they'll have moved her by now. Whoever this is, they're smart." Catherine said, wondering why they'd ditched the car. We might be able to track it back to them and find where they were. Then again, maybe they wanted to be found.

"Nick and Greg are on it."

**Okay, so I thought that would be sooooo cool for an episode! Especially the flash backs of Riley's :) I thought the commercial break would be after those :P Review if you want more!1**


	4. Clues

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with CSI...If I did this would be a season 11 episode :)_

**Fingerprints.**

Clues

Greg hopped out of his car and followed Nick to where the abandoned van was. In the mid-day heat, he could only guess how hot the inside of the vehicle would be.

Nick crouched down to look underneath while Greg took the cover off his camera lense.

He slowly walked to where the trunk was and pulled the handle. To his surprise it was unlocked and it opened up automatically.

He held his breath with worry, but the trunk was empty. He sighed with relief and took a picture of the blanket that covered the floor.

He smelt something and leaned in to get a better whiff. Nick walked to stand beside him.

"Smell the chloroform?" He asked the Texan CSI. Nick acknowledged him, but seemed distracted.

"Witness said she got into a car... this must be the first vehicle." He said and Greg nodded, not fully paying attention.

He noticed something red and focused on it. There was a smear of blood on the side of the trunk. There must have been a fight. He knew Riley and he knew she'd struggle. The thought made him uncomfortable. Why did this always happen to him? The people he cared about most were the ones that got hurt. And that hurt him. More than he had ever let on.

He pointed at the blood, giving Nick a knowing look. He sighed and snapped a picture.

He moved the blanket and found duct tape underneath. It had been used and he could see a slight tint of pink lip gloss on one particular short piece. He could imagine Riley's face, he mouth covered with it...he tried to shake the image away but it was as if it had been branded into his brain.

He bagged the tape and passed it to Nick who solemnly put it with the other evidence.

They got to processing the rest of the van, and did a basic run through. One thing that surprised Greg was that there was a print on the steering wheel. That was oddly reckless for a kidnapper.

"Got a print." Greg said, walking towards Nick and feeling the full heat of the sun on his back.

"Me too. This one's in blood." He explained and held out the little sheet of paper.

Greg took it and saw the bloody print for himself. He felt the fear take over. Blood meant injuries. Injuries meant fighting. And fighting... never ended well.

XXX

Ray brought the magnifying glass closer to his face, seeing the duct tape more clearly. The sparkle of Riley's lip gloss shined off the sticky grey tape.

"DNA was Riley's, no surprise there." He heard someone say and looked up to see Sara walking into the lab with the case file.

"Got a hit on the print?" He asked, hoping there was one. He was worried sick.

"Both. The one on the steering wheel matched a Tanner Marcus and the bloody one was Riley's along with the blood itself." She told him and he noticed that her voice raised in pitch slightly at the mention of the blood belonging to Riley. "Brass is bringing the guy in."

"Good." He said and grabbed the prints off the table, and putting them under the electrical magnifying glass. Turning the light on, he noticed something strange about Riley's print.

"Look at this." He said, gesturing towards the print. She gave him a look of subtle curiosity and followed his gaze. "The print is perfect. No smudging. No smears. And its full, not a partial. Almost as if..."

"It was on purpose." She said, finishing his sentence. He exchanged an odd glance with her and looked back down.

XXX

"She could have left it as a clue." Ray told the team, looking stressed but relieved they finally had something.

Nick stared at him with a worried look, knowing that Riley was smart, and she probably had a few tricks up her sleeve.

"Lets make sure we don't miss anything." Catherine said, a slight bit of confidence in her eyes. Despite what Riley had said in her exit interview, Nick could tell Catherine wanted to find her as much as he did. As much as they all did.

"Well, this had to be the first vehicle. And there was chloroform so the drugged her. Shouldn't be much to find evidence wise." Greg said, speaking up for the first time in a while. It was odd to see him so involved in a case. He was usually the back man. But Nick knew he cared about Riley. He really knew her. Maybe more than the rest of the team.

"I plugged into the cars system. The last trip was just over 1800 miles. Consistent with driving from Illinois." Nick said, trying to help as much as he could.

Just then Catherine's pager went off. They all watched as she read the message.

"Brass has the guy at the station." She said quickly, grabbing the case file.

"Let's go." Sara said and followed her out of the room, leaving Nick to think with Greg and Ray.

They exchanged grave looks and Nick shut his eyes with frustration.

**Ohhhhhhh what will happen next? Just wanted to thank the people commenting on this! It means a lot. Anyway, I thin the commercial break would be after the 2nd scene. Omg that would be cool:) More Riley and more angst on the way! The faster u comment the faster I write :D**


	5. Dead Ends

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with CSI...If I did this would be a season 11 episode :)_

**Fingerprints.**

Dead Ends.

Catherine found herself staring into Tanner Marcus's eyes with a harsh look. His brown hair was tousled around his forehead, looking messy but organized. Somehow it reminded her of Greg's old hair.

"Look, Mr. Marcus, We found your print on the wheel of a vehicle used to kidnap Riley Adams." She said coldly, watching him carefully. "Mind telling us about that?"

Tanner smirked, making Catherine's stomach turn with a sick feeling.

"Yeah, I helped kidnap her. So?" He said, toying with them.

"So," Sara said. "Your going to jail. But first you have to tell us where she is."

The man stifled a laugh in response. Catherine saw the cop's hand twitch towards his gun. But she gave him a warning look, knowing that they needed time.

"I'm. Not. Telling." Tanner said cockily. Catherine narrowed her eyes.

"Listen Tanner. She was our friend. And were not going to let her die. So tell us where she is. Or who you worked with. Just tell us something!" She said, losing her temper. Sara sighed slightly.

"No." He said shortly.

Catherine felt her breath increase.

XXX

Riley's breathe increased involuntarily. The man shoved her back into a lying position and she felt her head hit the cement floor hard.

She couldn't focus her sight for the pain so she pushed back, trying to get him off her. He really had a short fuse. All she'd done was tell him to let her go. Big mistake.

He grabbed at her hands and she looked at him angrily.

Seeing better now, she shoved with all her strength, managing to push him to the side of her. He may be tall but he wasn't strong.

"You bastard." She spat at him, moving to shove him onto the floor. Her confidence took over, but it didn't last long.

He grabbed her arms with an unmovable grip and threw her back onto the floor, pinning her arms beside her her ears.

Slowly, she came back to reality. Her confidence induced energy disappearing with every second. She'd done what she shouldn't have. She had made him angry. That was the last thing you wanted to do with an abductor.

He brought his face closer to hers and she was forced to look in his hate filled eyes.

"Pull a move like that again and your dead, you bitch." The man said angrily. "Got it?"

She stared at him breathing hard.

"Got it?" He asked louder this time. This isn't what she had expected. This guy looked like he was going to kill her. But he didn't. He was staring at her with an expectant glare.

"Yes." She said, defeated.

XXX

Greg raked his fingers through his hair and let the fear and sadness wash over him. He had tried to keep it in but it was way to powerful.

He knew he should be helping look for Riley, but he was sitting on the stupid linoleum floor in the locker room. He just couldn't do this.

It was Riley. Riley! That might have sounded stupid but she had cared about him. She was a great CSI, an amazing team member, but most of all an amazing friend. And he just couldn't fathom that she had been kidnapped. And it was all their fault. This was a revenge plot and they were the target. Riley was just an expendable to her abductor. Something they could just throw away.

He leaned his head back against the cold metal of the locker and shut his eyes.

He sensed her before she said anything.

"Hey." Sara said from the doorway, but he didn't bother to look at her.

He heard her move to slide down beside him and he slowly opened his eyes, to look into her equally stressed ones.

"How you holdin up?" She said, but sounded like she was just saying something to break the thick silence.

He just looked at her quietly.

"Well, Tanner isn't talking. Catherine's trying to get something out of him but it looks like he's staying that way." She said and he felt another picture of hope shatter.

He sighed frustratedly. "We need to find her." He told her, his anger getting the best of him.

"Obviously she was a great person. And she was there for you... when I wasn't. And were gonna find her." She said in a soft voice, making him sadder than he already was. "You found me. We found Nick, we found Lindsey. We'll find her, I promise."

Sara put a hand on his shoulder and he covered it with his.

**Sooo... what do ya think? I don't think its as good as the others but its filler :) The commercial break would be right at the end :D Review please!**


	6. Confusion

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with CSI...If I did this would be a season 11 episode :)_

**Fingerprints.**

Confusion.

Catherine rushed with determination down the hallway. Tanner was staying quiet, he obviously knew the other abductor quite well. And he wanted this to go bad. Very bad.

She came back to reality as Hodges almost ran into her in the hall.

"Hey, I got results off Tanner's boots." He said quickly, making her focus on him. She'd forgotten about the dried liquid on the underside of his overly large work boots.

"What is it?" She asked feeling eager yet scared at the same time. There was an uneasy feeling of worry eating away at her with every second. It had been growing larger and larger, since Riley's picture had popped up on the DNA machine.

"Sodium Triphosphate. Commonly used to make detergents, soaps and toothpastes." Hodges explained in his usual, strange way. But he sounded slightly more serious than usual. He was affected by Riley's kidnapping too.

"He was cleaning up?" She asked him, letting her mind go to work. But she was stopped in place by him again.

"No. If he was using soap or detergent, I would have found other chemicals. This was pure STPP."

"Thanks." She said, not wanting to waste her time listening to some stupid hypothesis he came up with that wouldn't help them at all.

She walked away from him, sensing the annoyed glare he shot her. She had more important things to do.

XXX

Nick glanced up from the computer as Catherine walked into the room. Sara was sitting beside him, immersed in thought.

"Hodges found Sodium Triphosphate on Marcus's shoes. And I also sent some officers to his place, we'll go once they secure it." Catherine said quickly, the barely pausing between words.

He nodded and gestured towards the screen.

"Yeah and he owns a car. It matches the description from the witness. I told Brass to get someone to tow it here." He told her, watching as she read the for sale add on the van.

"You know," Sara said from beside him, coming out of her trance. "If he isn't telling us where she is, she has to be alive. And if this is revenge, the other guy has to be with her..."

Nick gave her a curious look and he saw Catherine look at Sara with a look that said 'ya...and?'.

"Get Archie to check his phone records. If we have his number, we might have him."

Nick nodded, feeling a hesitant glimmer of optimism.

"Lets hope." He heard Ray say from the doorway. He was leaning against the frame, some files in his hands.

"Ray, you wanna take the car?" Catherine asked politely, but her voice was dull. She wasn't dealing with this well. Too much had happened this year and nobody could handle this.

Ray gave her a nod and turned around, but not before Nick saw Greg jog towards him. He heard him say "I'm coming" before following the older CSI to the garage. It used to be Riley, that Greg did that to.

He sighed, exchanging a tense glance with Catherine.

XXX

Greg snapped on a latex glove, feeling the familiar sticky inner side cling to his fingers. After working at the crime lab for so long, they were like a second skin to him.

He grabbed his camera off the table and walked to the front seat of the car. Careful not to contaminate anything, he pulled the door open slowly, taking a photo of the front seat.

It was empty, just like everything else. The empty trunk, the empty files that held the little info they had, they emptiness they all felt. His heart felt empty too. Not that that it had felt full in a long, long time. But now it seemed to be drained dry, like Catherine had poked a hole in it a she had talked to him on the phone that morning.

He felt somewhat drunk as he went with procedure, swabbing, bagging and tagging. He was out of it, that was for sure. He saw the memories flash by, blurry, as if he was underwater. It took him a minute to realize that his eyes were getting moist.

Blinking, to scare the oncoming tears away, he tried to focus on processing.

The inside looked like a normal car. Leather seats, untidy, but clean. But he noticed something on the foot mat. It was jagged and he saw the light reflect off it, glimmering like a Christmas light. He grabbed his tweezers and picked it up, realizing it was glass.

"Got some glass." He said out loud, hoping Ray was listening.

He heard a distracted "Yeah" come from the back seat. He glanced backwards, seeing Ray focusing on something opposite him.

Just as he turned back to the front, Ray spoke up again.

"Greg..." He paused, "Come here a sec."

Greg stood up and walked around to where the left back door that was open as wide as it would go.

Ray pointed to the window. At first he saw nothing, but as he moved to the side, he saw the light change on the glass. His heart rate spiked when he realized it was a cluster of finger prints.

He looked Ray in the eyes hopefully.

Dr. Langston pulled out his print dust and feathered it onto the window, with careful strokes. What they saw, wasn't exactly what they expected.

The prints looked shaped. Like they were in a design. But that could be a good thing. Riley could be giving them more clues.

Greg pulled out a print sheet and peeled back the clear, sticky side and plastered it onto the window, making sure he got everything.

When he pulled it off and folded it back onto the crisp white paper, he felt Ray lean in to look over his shoulder.

Greg couldn't help it. He felt curiosity, hope and most of all confusion, sweep over him.

There was a single, rolled out print on the top, much like the other one. But below it the prints were linear and he felt his eyes refocus as he saw the picture. W H.

What did that mean? W H could mean anything. Or nothing at all. A name, a place...

"W...H?" He said out loud and got a very confused expression from the CSI beside him.

**Kay, so did u like it? What could the WH mean? Can u guess? :p Anyway, in between the 1st and 2nd scene, the camera would just continue following Catherine and the camera would make sure to show the prints on the window. So review if you want more! :D**


	7. Time's Running Out

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with CSI...If I did this would be a season 11 episode :)_

**Fingerprints.**

Time's Running Out.

"WH?" Catherine asked skeptically. That made no sense.

Greg shrugged confusedly. He obviously didn't get it either.

"What does she mean by that?" Sara spoke up, rubbing her forehead with fatigue.

They'd been working for about 13 hours now. Not that they were quitting. The whole LVPD and LV crime lab was working the case. Anyone and everyone who could help was doing so. They had to find Riley before it was too late.

"Okay. Let's go over this." Ray said and stood up to walk to the white board.

He grabbed a marker and wrote down 'Illinois'. "They took her from Illinois sometime yesterday." He said, and pulled a picture down. "We know they drugged her. She was tied up and there was blood so obviously she fought back."

"And we found Tanner's print on the wheel." Greg joined in, but staying quiet and to himself.

Catherine listened, but she wasn't fully there. Every thought she had came back to Riley. It was like her brain was on a one way street and she couldn't turn around. She was a touchy subject. She had been an amazing team member and friend, but then she just up and left. But not before writing a bad exit interview about Catherine. Honestly, she didn't know what to think.

"They switched cars, probably to avoid being tracked." Nick said from beside her, and pushed a photo of the tire treads into the center of the table.

"And we found the gun there. It came back to Tanner. Which still makes no sense." Sara speculated, joining Ray by the white board.

"Plus the black car paint." Greg said although he seemed... reluctant. Actually he had seemed reluctant since he had come in this morning.

"Which brings us to the second car." Ray said, like he had many times before. But this wasn't like those times. This was different. "It doesn't have a system so we can't see how far they drove."

"You found glass on the floor mat." Cath said, tossing the small clear bag towards the center of the table.

"Hodges found the same chemical on it that was on Mr. Marcus's shoes. Sodium Triphosphate." She continued, making the team turn their attention towards the trace papers.

"Okay. And Riley left the clues. One bloody print on the first car. And the WH on the second." Nick explained, pointing to the print cards that were spread across the table.

"Were not getting anywhere with this." Sara sighed, leaning against the table.

"Then how about we give Tanner a little home inspection?" Catherine said, feeling the urge to do something. Anything at all.

XXX

Riley paced around the grey room. She was numb from head to toe. She didn't know why. Maybe fear. Maybe sadness. She just couldn't sit there.

Her hand was on her arm, which was still incredibly painful. The blood had slowed slightly, but the pain hadn't.

She heard her footsteps pad against the cement floor. They become repetitive and predictable, even annoying.

She rattled the doorknob for the fifth time, and for the fifth time, it didn't move.

She felt defeated. It wasn't supposed to happen this way. But something their job always told them, was that you couldn't choose your life. Things had a way of happening when you don't want them to, the way you don't want them to.

She heard a click, bringing her back to he present. The door knob turned and she backed up instinctively.

The man pushed the metal door open, stepping into the light of the slightly dim light bulb. He shut it behind him, making a large bang.

"Would you quit trying to open the damn door!" He said loudly, but stayed calm. His hair was messy, and he looked stressed.

"Then let-" She said loudly, but stopped when she remembered his lack of patience and control. "Then, please let me go." She finished, quieter this time.

"I already told you. Your not going anywhere. I want the CSIs to find you dead. I want them to feel the pain I did. And they will." He told her, his voice raising.

She shifted her weight and felt her legs ache with exhaustion.

She knew this was probably a bad idea, but she went for it. "But they could show up at any time. How would you know when to kill me?" Riley spoke quietly.

The man looked at her with a sinister glimmer in his eyes.

"Actually," He began dramatically. "I might just have to kill you sooner than I planned. Thanks for the help." He finished and Riley felt the embarrassing guilt consume her.

"Why punish me for what they did? Why not target them, instead of me?" She pleaded, desperate for a way out.

The man looked like he was going to explain, but thought better of it. "I like it better this way."

He turned to leave, but looked back at her evilly. "You better make the most of this. Cause you don't have much time left."

Crap. What had she done?

She watched as he left the room and she heard the lock click into place.

"Shit." She muttered, frustrated and slid downwards to sit on the cold floor.

XXX

Sara twirled the print dust across the edge of the wooden coffee table to reveal yet another partial. Inspecting it with the magnifying glass she identified it as Tanner Marcus's. All the prints in here were.

As far as they knew, they hadn't even brought Riley here, but they couldn't help but hope for a lead. The WH on the window had gotten them nowhere. They didn't know what she meant at all. Sara had racked her brain the entire ride here, but had once again come up with nothing.

"Another one." She heard Greg say from the kitchen.

"Same. They're all his." She called out, wondering if they'd actually find something useful.

She stood up and walked into the hallway, towards the dining room.

It was big, like all the rooms in the house. And against the far wall there was a table with a printer on it. Curiosity took over and she pressed the reprint button.

The machine noisily printed a new sheet of paper. She turned it over and found a map of Vegas on the other side.

So...what? He didn't know where he was going?

Sara turned around when she heard Catherine walk into the room.

"Got a map of Vegas... He probably didn't know where he was going." She told her, looking down at the evidence bag in Catherine's hand.

She gestured towards it.

"Oh. Duct tape." Catherine said, lifting up the bag to show her.

Just then, Greg walked in and leaned against the doorway.

"What do you have?" Catherine asked him, pushing the hair out of her eyes.

"Partials, partials and more partials. So, basically nothing." He said, seeming tired.

"We need more evidence." Sara said, leaning against the wall. "We need to find her. Soon."

**Soooo... I know the last scene wasn't that great. But oh well, what can you do :P Anyway the commercial break would be at the end. And the first scene would be filmed from multiple angles and stuff...sooo... yeahh. :) Review!**


	8. Answers

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with CSI...If I did this would be a season 11 episode :)_

**Fingerprints.**

Answers

Ray watched as Brass walked down the hall of LVPD. Tanner still wasn't talking. And it was quite frankly, pissing off the entire police force. Everyone had known Riley for her uncanny ability to get info out of suspects.

"You wanna talk to him?" The captain asked him, and he shook his head.

Brass looked at him warily, his eyebrows bunching together.

"You got anything new?" Jim attempted, Ray could tell he was feeling the same strain they were.

"No. You got any dirt on him?" He asked back, wanting desperately to find something on him.

"Nothing, he was a suspect in an arson a few years back but he was cleared." Brass told him, bringing his hand up to rub his temple.

Ray relaxed into the chair but straightened back up after a second of thought.

"Who was on the case?" He asked him, finding himself subconsciously edging forward on his green padded seat.

Brass reached across his desk to grab the manilla folder, opening it to check. But his eyes became dim. Ray gave him a questioning stare.

"Riley and Greg."

XXX

Nick sat at his desk, flipping through the files. He wasn't really reading them. He couldn't make himself focus enough. Its not like something was just going to pop out at him. The words weren't gonna jump off the page and into his brain. No. He was just flipping through the thick white papers out of habit.

He wanted to do something. They needed to find Riley and the guilt was building up inside him, like a brick wall, slowly getting bigger, consuming him entirely.

Greg sat beside him, doing the same thing he was, probably thinking the same thing he was thinking. It was a habit they had developed over the years, doing things the same. It was something Riley used to make fun of, although she was slightly hypocritical. She had always talked in unison with Greg.

He thought back to when they had shared this office with her. They had spent hours finishing reports in here, talking about college memories of all the things.

And all of a sudden he felt the pieces click together. WH.

Greg sensed him tense and looked at him eagerly.

"I've got it." He told him quickly, feeling energized for the first time that night.

XXX

"What?" Greg asked him, seeing Nick sit up straight.

"WH." He said, turning to face Greg. "Think about Riley's case reports."

Although he didn't know why his friend had asked him to, he did as asked, remembering everything he could. Riley had always complained about them, you couldn't tune her out. And she wrote with weird quirks. Like writing ML for meth lab and... _Oh my god. _Greg felt overwhelming relief when he realized what Nick meant.

"She used WH as a short form for warehouse." He said, seeing Nick nod in response.

"Exactly."

XXX

Sara picked up speed as she saw Nick and Greg run into Archie's.

"What's going on?" She asked as she followed them through the door.

"WH means warehouse." Nick said, not bothering to face her.

"Archie," Greg said, putting a hand on the back of his friend's chair. "Check if there are any warehouses that might store sodium triphosphate."

The AV tech nodded, and logged onto the system.

"Okay,"

"See if any are kind of remote or isolated. We found a map at the house." She added, feeling the heat of the moment in full force.

She stood beside Greg, watching as Archie typed in the info and pressed search.

The map zoomed in on Vegas and 2 circles popped onto the screen.

"That can't be it, it's guarded." Nick said, pointing to the bottom location.

Archie clicked out of it, leaving the other one blinking on the multiple screens.

"This one?" He asked them, moving his mouse to hover above it. But it was too primary. Anyone could find that.

"I'll send some unis but I doubt it. It's too central, he didn't need a map to get there." Nick said, pulling out his phone and stepping into the hallway.

She, along with Archie, glanced at Greg, who seemed to be completely focused on the table. All of a sudden he looked up.

"Check for factories too. Some have their own warehouses." He said impatiently, making Sara uneasy.

It wasn't that she didn't think they would find her... but that was just it. What if they did find her...and they were too late? What would that do to him? To the team?

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to stop thinking that way.

"Got one." She heard Archie say, pulling her back to reality.

For a split second they stared at the blinking dot, as if it would somehow tell them if she was there. But one split second later, they were running out of the room, phones in hand, dialling the other's numbers.

**:O Think they will find her? In time? Hahaha I'm evil I know :) Please review, I personally love this chapter although its short :) Anyway I'm sure you can imagine how it would be filmed, and when the break would be:D aha REVIEW AND I WILL WRITE FASTER! I swear!**


	9. Time's up

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with CSI...If I did this would be a season 11 episode :)_

**Fingerprints.**

Time's Up.

Catherine sped down the road, with her police lights flashing. Ray sat in the passenger seat, staring blankly ahead into the blackness of the Vegas sky.

She had just received a phone call from Sara saying that they thought they knew where Riley was. Catherine wasn't one to jump to conclusions, but she felt as though she had to.

The streets were surprisingly quiet, it was a Friday night and she had expected more traffic.

As they sped towards the factory, she couldn't help but feel absolute fear in the pit of her stomach. She felt the coldness rise and she felt numb as the pulled into the parking lot.

It was an abandoned warehouse, that was for sure. It looked to be about 40 years old. Unfortunately, that could be a bad thing.

The parking lot already had Brass's car and 2 other squad vehicles parked in it, along with Nicks truck and Greg's Denali.

She practically ran out of the car, towards where Nick, Sara, Greg and Brass were standing. Ray caught up to her a few seconds later.

"You sure this is it?" She asked Nick, trying not to get her hopes up.

He looked at her seeming out of it. He just shrugged.

"It better be."

"What are we waiting for?" Greg blurted out, impatience reflected in his eyes.

"Back-up, Greg." Sara told him sternly, he had obviously asked the same question repeatedly.

He gave her a frustrated look. Brass seemed to be getting less and less calm.

"Lets go." He said, and un-holstered his gun.

XXX

Riley's eyes fluttered open as the metal door slammed against the wall.

In a matter of seconds the man was across the room, pulling her up by her arm.

She stumbled onto her feet, feeling the cold of her fear freeze her.

"Your CSI friends are smarter than I thought." He said roughly, grabbing her by the neck.

He forced her out of the room and she stumbled again, him pushing her forwards. It was then that she noticed the gun in his hand. After she saw it, she tried to walk the best she could, with the least resistance as possible.

They went through the dimly lit hallway, Riley not daring to say anything.

As they came into a larger area he stopped suddenly, making her lose her balance. He yanked her upright and she brought her hands up to her neck, trying to loosen his extremely tight grip.

"Your time's up." He said and she felt her legs go numb.

She heard the footsteps in the distance and she knew what it meant. She was going to die. And the CSIs would have to watch.

XXX

Greg watched as Brass signalled the team. Ray and Nick went left, Brass and Sara went right. And he followed closely behind Catherine.

He felt like he should be in front of her. He always felt like that. But he knew Catherine was strong and she was the leader, not him. He just didn't want anyone else to get hurt.

It went silent as they continued through the rows of boxes, the only sound was their breathing.

They came to a corner and he exchanged a worried glance with his supervisor.

Greg rounded the corner first, stepping carefully around it, his gun drawn. But what he saw froze him on the spot.

In the middle of the room, being held around the neck by a tall man, was Riley. Greg's breathe flew out in shock.

She looked horrible. Her arm had a huge gash on it, dried blood coating her skin. Her hair was still the shiny blonde it had always been, but it was straggly and teased. Her hands were by her sides, shaking ever so slightly and her face looked drawn with exhaustion. But there was something in her deep, blue eyes that was different. Really different.

Catherine took a shaky breathe beside him but he couldn't take his eyes away from Riley's. She finally met his stare and he felt the worry overtake him.

He realized what was different about her eyes. He had never seen her this way. She was scared.

"Hello CSIs." The man said tauntingly. "Nice of you to join us."

**OOOOHHHH danngggg ;) Haha review if you liked it. I think I did. :) Soooo... When they're driving it would switch between the members of the team. So ya :) More on the way! Plus, If this was an episode, It would belong so probably an 2 part. And it would end right here! That would be so suspensful you know? "To be continued..." :)  
**


	10. Over

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with CSI...If I did this would be a season 11 episode :)_

**Fingerprints.**

Over

Riley felt her heart beat so loud she couldn't hear, as she saw Greg come around the corner with his gun drawn.

She felt as if she could fall over right then and there, seeing him again. And when she saw Catherine come to his side, she felt the surprised feeling double.

They were both the same as she remembered. Catherine's hair was the strawberry blonde it had always been, her eyes focused on the guy holding Riley. But Greg looked more scared than she had ever seen him. She saw his finger twitch and she felt as though she could smile, if she wasn't so terrified. That was one of those quirks he had always had. But she _was_ terrified.

"Hello CSIs. Nice of you to join us." Her captor said menacingly from behind her.

Riley felt her hands begin to shake. They were going to watch her die. They were going to watch. Her eyes started stinging, threatening to start the inevitable tears.

"Let her go." Catherine said coldly, her eyes flickering to meet Riley's. "Now."

She felt the man's arm tighten around her neck and she resisted the urge to try to pull it off. She tried to stay as calm as she could, she had seen too many hostages die early by annoying the captor.

"You know I can't do that Catherine. Because you know exactly why I'm doing this don't you?" He said a little louder than he needed to, putting an emphasis on 'exactly'.

Riley shifted her head to the side, trying to edge herself away from the gun he had pressed to the side of her temple. Of course he caught on and pulled her back roughly.

"What ever we did wrong, just tell us. You don't have to hurt her." Greg said and Riley could tell he was just a few notches from freaking out.

"Do you have any idea how many people would kill to be in my position right now?" The man said, provoking a subtle confused look from both CSIs. "To be able to hurt you, the way you hurt them?"

Riley closed her eyes briefly, realizing that this was the end. Every breath she took could be her last. Every look she exchanged with her former friends could be the last thing she saw. And yet, she couldn't help but hope that somehow, some way, she could survive this.

And then it got worse. If that was even possible.

Nick and Ray turned around the corner, shock plastered to their faces. They were the same too. A splitting image of the last time she had seen them.

"Lovely. All your friends are here to watch, Riley. Isn't it nice having a large audience?" The man said in her ear, making her crane her neck away, in utter discomfort.

"Were sorry, we are. But please let her go, its not her fault." Nick pleaded, giving away that they had been listening to the conversation.

"No, but its yours. You put Alissa in jail. You did that." He said, gesturing to Greg. "She didn't do anything wrong and yet you punished her. So I'm just returning the favour."

He pressed the cold barrel of the metal gun harder against her delicate temple, causing her to wince in pain.

"Please." Ray asked, desperate. But the man just shook his head, and Riley could see a smirk playing on his lips.

"Say goodbye, Riley." He said and she heard him cocked the gun with the back of his finger, causing her blood to run cold.

The tiny metallic click sounded and she saw everyone react. Catherine's face became softer, almost pleading. Ray's foot edged forwards, his subconscious urge to help her showing through. Greg's breath flew out silently, his eyes locked on her. And Nick looked like he couldn't take it anymore.

In the milliseconds that had passed, Riley had jerked her hands up to her neck, pulling his arm down out of instinct.

But no instinct or pleading or fear would help her now. She was going to die. In front of the only real friends she had ever had.

She closed her eyes in regret.

The loud bang echoed through the air.

XXX

Greg felt his knees threaten to give out as the large bang sounded in the thin air. The cold ran through him, his mind's instincts running wild.

But what he saw, was so unexpected, he wondered if he was seeing things.

Almost in slow motion, the man began to fall, pushing Riley away from him. She stumbled forwards, a small gasp escaping her lips.

The man, fell to the ground, blood soaking his shirt. It was then that Greg realized what happened. The man had been shot. Not Riley. Riley was okay. She was okay. _Thank god._

He watched as Riley looked back, complete shock on her face. He felt the others stare as well.

The next few seconds were a blur. He stepped forwards at he same time as her, pulling her into his arms before she could fall over. She held on to him tightly, her face resting on his shoulder.

He watched as Sara came out from behind a row of boxes, her gun at still pointed at Riley's attacker. So _she_ was the one who shot him...

The relief flooded his veins and he held Riley ever so slightly tighter, still not believing what had just happened. But she was safe now. She was safe. They all were.

XXX

Nick walked down the hall of the hospital, hearing his footsteps echo through the halls.

He came up to Riley's room, seeing her inside. She was sitting on the bed in a fresh pair of clothes, a large gauze bandage taped to her arm.

To the left of her, sitting on a visitors chair, was Greg. He was leaning in, animatedly telling a story, a smile playing on his lips.

Ray was at the foot of the bed, sitting on another chair. He was listening to the younger CSI, an amused expression filling his face.

Nick leaned against the door frame, catching the last words of Greg's story. Riley laughed softly along with Greg and Nick couldn't help but smile.

She turned her head to see him in the doorway and her eyes lit up.

"Hey." She said lightly. She leaned back against the pillows, the after play of a smile still etched on her face.

"Hey. Good to see your okay." He told her, feeling even more relieved as he said it. She was finally okay. All that worrying and all that fear had dissipated the second he realized that she had survived.

"Yeah. Your the ones who found me. By the way... how exactly did you do that?" She asked, teasing them and glancing at Greg.

"Your fingerprints." Greg said, smirking at her. He leaned back in his chair, outstretching his legs to rest on her mattress.

"That was smart Riley." Ray said before she could respond. "Invisible, unique... and the WH was a good idea."

She looked at him, with a serious yet still happy air about her.

"Who figured that one out?" She asked, crossing her legs in front of her.

Nick watched as Greg pointed to him and heard Riley chuckle.

"Of course you would." She said, mostly to herself.

"How long till your out of here?" Greg asked her smiling.

Nick looked at Riley as she smiled back. It was so good to see her be back to normal. And just to see her agin period. He had missed her more than he realized.

"Doctor said a few hours... But that doesn't mean I'm gonna listen." She said, playfully wiggling her eyebrows at them.

"Maybe you should come by the lab..." Ray said, standing up and walking to the doorway.

The ever present smile on Riley's face fell slightly.

"I don't think that's a good idea." She told them, while looking down at her palms.

Nick watched as Greg sat up and looked at her.

"Catherine doesn't hate you Riley. Nobody does." He told her and Nick nodded with Ray.

It was tough what Riley had said about Cath, but they didn't judge her for it. She was their friend. And nobody hated her. They all liked her. Even Catherine.

Nick watched from a far as Riley continued to tease them, seeming more and more like herself as the time went by.

**So... u like? Good so far? There should be another 1 or 2 chapters... Unless u guys want more. I'm happy to write more! Just review or inbox me to let me know! :D**


	11. Breathe

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with CSI...If I did this would be a season 11 episode :)_

**Fingerprints.**

Breathe.

Sara walked down the dimly lit hallway of the crime lab, feeling drained. Her mind hadn't quite registered what had actually happened yet. She remembered seeing Riley being held,and she remembered seeing the perfect shot. Obviously she took it.

She turned the corner and saw Greg walking along side Riley, as the lab techs watched with curiosity.

Sara smiled at Greg and stopped in front of Riley. She watched as the blonde, who was almost taller than her, smile back softly.

"You're Sara." She said, it sounding like a statement rather than a question. She obviously knew a lot about her.

She smiled and nodded, shaking Riley's hand. She was glad she was okay. But mostly, she was just glad this was all over.

"I've heard a lot about you." Riley told her, glancing at Greg. Of course.

"Most of it good, I hope." She replied back, watching as Greg subconsciously inched towards her.

"Oh believe me, all of it." She said and smirked at Greg. Sara chuckled at him, as he rolled his eyes.

Slowly, she felt her smile fade from her face. "I'm glad your okay." Sara said, putting a hand on Riley's shoulder.

"Well...me too." She said playfully, a smile on her features. "Thanks for shooting him."

"No problem."

Sara watched as Riley and Greg walked down the hallway towards where Nick was walking out of Hodges lab. They exchanged hugs and she couldn't help but smile.

Now she saw what everyone had meant. Riley seemed to be a great person. She was playful and understanding, she put up with Greg's crap, and she managed to deal with things like this in a way that Sara had never seen before. And Sara finally saw what Grissom meant. Riley had a hard willed attitude. She seemed to be just as overly driven in her work as Sara was, despite the difference in jobs. And there was something there, underneath her confident facade. It wasn't too hard to see, then again maybe it was because Sara had taught herself to look for stuff like this, but it was there. And Sara could see it. Complete and utter relief.

XXX

Riley fond herself in the break room that she had been in so many times in the past. She relaxed into the couch, enjoying the silence that came with being alone. It had been nice to the lab again, but she needed to take a few moments to compose herself. After all, she wanted to talk to Catherine. The team had subtly warned her not to, but she felt as if she had no choice. She wanted to make this right.

Riley closed her eyes, wishing herself to be more confident. But as soon as they were closed, she saw the vividly realistic visions play out in front of her. She saw herself being held in the room again and she heard the loud bang echo in the warehouse. She saw the man fall, and saw the small gasp escape Greg's lips. For a second she felt her mind focus on that. Then he filled the space between them and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Hey." Someone said from the doorway, breaking her out of her frighteningly bright memories. She opened her eyes with a small gasp to see Catherine standing in the doorway.

"Uh...Hi." She replied, trying to shake away the flashback. She had wanted to talk to Catherine, sure. But not right now. _Crap._

Riley watched as her former boss moved to sit on a chair across from her. She took a second before she made eye contact.

"I'm sorry Catherine. You have no idea how sorry I am. I just..." She trailed off, at a loss for words. She had no idea how to explain what had happened.

"Its okay Riley." Cath said reluctantly. She seemed as though she was still pissed off. "You...dont need to explain."

"No. I do. You deserve to know. I owe you that much." She replied quickly, although she had didn't know how to start.

Catherine sighed and leaned back in her chair and Riley felt her nerves get to her.

"A long time ago...before I came to Vegas...my boyfriend killed himself." She said, listening with shock at her own words. She'd never talked about this before.

Catherine's expression turned sympathetic.

"And...I was pretty messed up. I moved here and you guys helped me get better. But then...there was that case where the guy shot himself at the court." She said, remembering how much it had affected her.

"Then, my boyfriends mom found me. She freaked out. Told me it was my fault..." She said and then paused, taking a deep breath. "I guess I started to believe her."

Catherine leaned forwards and looked Riley in the eyes. "I'm sure it wasn't your fault."

Riley managed a small smile. "I just had to leave. Get away from it all." She said quietly. "I didn't mean what I said in the exit interview. I'm not blaming it on her, but I took out my anger on you. And I shouldn't have. I am so, so sorry Catherine."

She watched as the strawberry blonde looked at her and sighed.

"Its okay. I'm not saying I'm not mad," She said slowly "But its okay."

And Riley smiled at her, watching as she returned it. This was going to be okay. She just had to relax, take it slow and remember to breathe.

XXX

Nick lifted the print off the light bulb on the grey cement wall. This was the room that Riley had been held in.

There was blood all over the floor. And all of it was Riley's. Some stray hairs, also Riley's, were on the wall. He could just imagine her sitting there, losing hope. But he tried to shake that from his mind. She was safe. She was okay.

"The rest of the prints in here are the two kidnappers." Ray said from behind him, making Nick jump.

"Sorry." Ray continued, flashing an apologetic smile.

He went back to dusting the light bulb, shielding his eyes from the cascading print dust.

As Ray walked to look down at the smeared blood, Nick stepped of the plastic stool. The prints were all they had found in here.

"So I guess that's it. Case closed, we got their prints." He said to Ray, as he leaned against the wall, twirling the duster between his fingers absentmindedly.

But his fellow CSI looked up regretfully. "Not really."

_Huh? _"What?" He asked him, the confusion filling him up slowly, from hed to toe.

"I found another print. On the other side of the door. It matches a smudge on the duck tape." He said with a sigh.

Nick felt the frustration and uneasy cold feeling spread up through his stomach. It was that discomforting, anxious feeling anyone got when they were scared. But he was more than scared. There was another person. A third kidnapper.

_Great. _

**Sooo... u guys still want moree ? If so let mee knowwwww :)**


	12. Rethink

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with CSI...If I did this would be a season 11 episode :)_

**Fingerprints.**

Re-think.

Catherine sighed out of frustration, glancing at Brass as she did. He made eye contact with her reluctantly.

This was bad. There was a third kidnapper. And they had _no_ idea how to find him. Tanner Marcus wasn't talking. And the other kidnaper, who they now knew was Turner Reynolds, was...well...dead. So how could they find him?

"How did we miss that?" Catherine asked from her spot beside Brass, tossing the picture of the fingerprint onto the shiny table.

"We assumed it was Reynolds. Just like all the other ones." Greg said before sighing regretfully.

She looked across the table at him and Nick who were both staring at the pictures with a hard stare.

"I don't think we should tell Riley." Nick told them stress-fully.

Catherine watched as Greg shook his head. "I'm not gonna lie to her. She deserves to know."

She thought about what Greg had just said. Riley deserved to know, yes. But was it really a good idea to tell her now, after what she had been through?

"I don't think now's the right time, Greg." She said softly, hoping the rest of the team agreed.

"There isn't gonna a _right _time. There's a kidnapper still out there, who probably wants her dead, and you don't want her to know?" He said and Catherine could see that he was very protective of Riley.

"She's a cop, she can handle it." Sara muttered from the doorway. Catherine hadn't even realized she was there.

Catherine nodded her head in defeat, seeing her point. Riley needed to know this. The guy could be anywhere. But she didn't remember Riley mentioning a third person. So did she even know?

XXX

"I already told you what I know." Riley told Ray in the interrogation room. They had already taken her statement. Why did they need it again?

"Are you sure there was only two men?" Brass asked seriously, but his voice was different from when he usually asked his victims questions.

Riley thought about it for a minute. She had been out cold for most of the ride to Vegas, but when they had switched cars, she definitely remembered two men, one holding her, the other driving. Once they had gotten to the warehouse though, the one who had been holding her had left.

"Yeah. Why?" She asked him, wondering why she was being questioned again.

She noticed Ray shift reluctantly. His face was easy to read, and she knew he was stressed about something.

"Riley..." He said quietly, running his hand across the transparent glass table absentmindedly. "There's a third suspect."

His words hit her like a ton of bricks. A third suspect? But he could be anywhere. And she didn't even remember him.

"We cant identify him from his fingerprints and we don't have any other leads." Ray told her, seeming worried. That wasn't something you saw everyday.

Her breath became shaky as she realized that they had no idea where the suspect was. They couldn't do a search, because there was no hit in CODIS. They couldn't do a search because they didn't know what he looked like. They couldn't find him.

She was staring at the table for what felt like forever, before Brass got her attention.

"Riley, we want you to have an officer with you at all times, for your safety." He said in the deep voice she remembered.

"In case you hadn't heard I _am _a cop." She didn't want some random officer following her every move. She had gun training, and she knew self defence. Who knew if this guy would even show up? "I'll be fine."

"No, Riley. Someone needs to be with you." Brass said sternly, and she knew she was starting to annoy him. But she was going to be fine.

She shook her head, taking a chance with his temper.

"Then at least have one of us with you." Ray spoke up, looking her in the eyes. "The CSI's have gun training too. And were your friends, not officers."

Riley sighed. She liked the second idea better, but it made her feel weak. She didn't need protecting. She'd been in way worse situations than this. She liked all the CSIs who were also her friends. But she wasn't defenceless.

She opened her mouth to speak, but Ray cut her off.

"Riley." He said, like a parent would interrupt her child. She realized she wasn't getting out of this.

"Fine."

XXX

Greg looked up as Sara sat down across from him in his former DNA lab. He put down his coffee cup, the third one that hour, and looked up at her. Her eyes told him exactly what he needed to know. Over the years they had developed such a keen knowledge of each other, that with just a look, their thoughts were shared. And what she was telling him was that Riley had agreed.

"Riley's okay with it?" He asked her, tapping his fingers. He hadn't expected that. Riley wasn't one to give in easily.

Sara's stone hard expression lightened slightly as she shook her head.

"Oh, she put up a fight. One of us has to be with her. And I don't think she wants that either, but..." She trailed off shrugging. He had a feeling he knew what she had been going to say. _She has no choice. _

But he did see where Riley was coming from. She was a cop, she'd already been kidnapped and almost shot. And Greg knew that she didn't like feeling weak. So after all that, why would she want protection when she knew exactly how to use a gun? But, on the other hand, that's why she should have a CSI with her. The more guns, the more safety.

"Any leads on the third suspect?" Sara asked quietly, and he looked back at the table he sat at.

"I've been looking at all the prints and DNA." Greg started, but stopped when he saw the look on Sara's face.

"Isn't that the lab tech's job?" She asked teasingly, smirking at him. Seeing her smile was nice. It wasn't something she did often.

"And here I thought you would be proud of my dedication." He muttered playfully, while arranging the pictures and evidence bags before he continued.

"Two prints are our missing kidnappers." He pushed the pictures forwards as he explained. "Just partials, but they should have been enough for CODIS. So he or she isn't in the system."

Sara nodded at him, pulling the card board box of other evidence across the table towards her. She rooted through it before pulling out a few items.

"Anything on these?" She asked him, spreading some evidence bags out. Some duct tape, crime scene photos and the gun found in the alley.

"We'll just have to figure that out." He said and grabbed the packaged gun.

**Sooo? U likeeyyy? Im makin more i promise and more drama and action on theee wayy! And after Greg right there, i could imagine one of those evidence processing montages they always do :P REVIEWWWWWWWWWWW! PLEASEE**


	13. Breakdowns and Breakthroughs

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with CSI...If I did this would be a season 11 episode :)_

**Fingerprints.**

Breakdowns And Breakthroughs.

Ray was staring into the computer's screen wondering if they were just imagining this. Other than the prints there was no other evidence of the third suspect. So either he didn't exist,or he was incredibly good at evading them.

A noise from behind Ray made him spin around. In the doorway stood Sara and an eager Greg right behind her.

"We went over the evidence." Sara told him, handing over a case folder. "Mr. Third Suspect decided to leave us a hair on the gun."

"That's oddly reckless for someone who wanted to stay invisible." Ray speculated.

"But," Greg piped in. "When you think about it, they didn't really care if we found them. In fact they wanted us to. So we could find Riley dead. Maybe the third person changed their mind and bolted."

Ray nodded and turned back to Sara, pointing down at the hair in the file. "You run this through the system yet?"

"Yep. 13 oliels in common with a case a few years ago." She told him, holding out her hand for the manilla folder Greg was holding. He handed it over, folding his hands across his chest.

"Parental match." Said Ray, as he leaned forwards to get a better look at the picture. There was a woman with light brown hair, she looked to about 35 and she had bright green eyes.

"This is Charlise Berman. Couple months for a drug charge, released over a year ago." Sara pointed at the picture as she told him this.

"What exactly are we waiting for?" Greg asked loudly and stood up.

XXX

"Why are you being so stubborn about this?" Nick asked Riley, as he sat across from her in a booth at their favourite diner.

She looked at him sarcastically. He knew he was being a bit ridiculous. But it was Riley and after the shit she'd just been through, he wanted her safe. For good.

"I don't need protecting. I'm a cop. I'll be fine. You don't even have to be here." She insisted, and he watched as she absentmindedly fiddled with the cutlery on the red table.

"I'm not going anywhere." He told her quickly. She was _not_ getting out of this.

"I knew you were gonna say that." Riley said, smirking at him. Her face lit up and it was nice to see her happy again. But just as fast as it appeared, it vanished and was replaced by the depressing expression that had clouded her face since the interrogation room.

"Nick waited a few seconds before speaking. "Whats wrong?"

She looked up at him with a fake look of confusion, but he saw through it like glass. Did she really think she was fooling him?

"Huh? Nothing."She answered and looked immediately back at the table.

"Riley. I know you. And I know that's not the truth." He reminded her, expectantly waiting for her to talk.

She sighed and sunk a little lower in the booth.

"I was scared." She started, avoiding eye contact. "Really scared. He told me everything. That it was about revenge to get to you guys. I just... I didn't want to hurt you."

She took a deep breath and he had to use all his will power not to reach out an hug her.

"Its not the same in Chicago. We get to work, sit in the car all day with your partner, then go home. But here, you have a family. Not just the CSIs. Even PD." She explained, her voice thickening. He felt a pang of bittersweet happiness as he realized that she was right.

She pushed her shoulder length dirty blonde hair out of her eyes, before finally meeting his stare. But her eyes were filled with some unknown darkness. It shocked Nick. It really did. He had never seen anything but light in her light blue eyes.

"And I miss you guys. I made a mistake. I left the only true family I've ever had. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I left." She finished, the tears pooling and her voice cracking with regret.

Not being able to control it any longer, he reached across the table, swiftly, and grabbed her hand with a tight grip.

"It's okay. I promise it's okay Riley."

XXX

Catherine stood in her standard issue Crime Lab vest as they waited for an answer to the door they had just knocked on.

Brass stood beside her, along with Ray and Greg. She heard a rustling behind the door, before it flew open with a discomforting creak.

In front of them stood a frail looking woman, with thick black hair and deep brown eyes. Her blue shirt was wrinkled, sitting loosely over a pair of brown pants. Her dark brown skin seemed to have a shine to it.

"Hi. Can I help you?" She asked in a quiet and reserved voice.

Brass pulled out his badge and the folded papers of the warrant.

"I'm detective Jim Brass. I have a warrant to search this house." He told her before pushing his way inside, pulling out his gun. Who knew if the suspect was here or not.

They followed close behind him, ignoring the annoyed look on Charlise Berman's face. She followed close behind Brass as Greg and Ray went the other direction.

They rounded each corner in complete silence, kicking in every door with as much force as the had in them. Once the left side of the small bungalow was cleared, they walked back to the living room where a disturbed looking Charlise was standing beside Greg and Ray.

"Clear." Brass muttered and mouthed the same.

"Mrs. Berman, " Catherine began, carefully avoiding seeming too harsh. "You have a son..."

Charlise nodded, a look of realization spreading over her face. Like this happened often.

"Yes. Raphael. I assume this is about his current...uh... activities." She said slowly, gesturing them to sit down. Brass did as she said, Ray doing the same. Catherine remained standing along with Greg.

"Were you aware that he was involved in the kidnapping of a Chicago police officer?" Brass asked her, getting straight to the point of the conversation.

The woman sat in a wooden chair and nodded.

"He came home afterwards, bragging about it. I told him it was wrong. I did. But he said it didn't matter because he had ran before the cops got there. Then I told him to get out. I didn't want a murderer in my house." Charlise told them outright.

"Why didn't you call the police? Let us know that he was involved?" Asked Ray, taking his sunglasses off.

The African American woman stared at him for a moment. "I may not have wanted him under my roof, but that didn't mean I wanted him under yours. I just couldn't understand why he helped kill that woman. Raphael said it was for revenge. For all the innocent people who went to jail."

"Ma'am, the woman didn't die. We found her in time." Greg told her, and Catherine could sense some underlying pride in his statement.

"Oh." She uttered softly, looking at Greg. "That's good."

"Where's Raphael now?" Catherine asked, changing subjects. They didn't have time for this.

"I don't know. He might be in one of the motels near here, but other than that, I can't help you." She said and looked down. But soon after she looked back up as if she remembered something.

The look on her face was as if she was arguing inside her head, trying to decide what to say. But she said it.

"But if there's one thing about Raphael, he's obsessive. If that girl survived... I'd be worried. He's not going to take that lightly. And he's going to finish the job."

Catherine exchanged glances with Ray and Greg as Charlise finished. Riley was still in danger. Raphael Berman could be stalking her at this very moment. And she had no idea.

**Oh no! Whats going to happen? Wait to find out, more coming on the way, I promise. Review please. Liked it? didn't? Tell me pleaseeeee :)**


	14. Heat Of The Moment

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with CSI...If I did this would be a season 11 episode :)_

**Fingerprints.**

Heat Of The Moment.

Riley stood in front of the grey marble counter, rinsing her face with the cold tap water. She remembered this diner, and all the time they had spent there. And as much as it was nice being back, the constant memories weren't helping to stop the tears.

Finally she let them flow into her mind, ignoring the redness in her eyes. He favourite one, a day back when Ray had just started, played out in her mind.

_The team sat along the bar, Riley was beside Greg, as always. They never sat anywhere but beside each other. He was complaining about some stupid uniforms who were looking from down the counter, probably because Ecklie had just been declared the new under-sheriff. _

_Anyway, the had all been laughing about Ray's burnt toast when Nick went to take a spoonful of his soup, before a disgusted expression crinkled his face. _

"_Aww man, look at that. Look at that." He said, holding up his spoon. On it was a dead fly, still twitching. Riley wanted to be sick._

"_Yep, I see." Catherine said, leaning away and covering her mouth. Greg chuckled beside Riley. _

"_No wonder why Grissom loved this place so much." He said playfully. And it was true. Grissom was the bug man, and he had loved this diner. _

_All of a sudden, Nick shoved the spoonful into his mouth, eating the fly along with the soup it was lying in._

"_Ohh." Catherine muttered with disgust. _

"_Ew." Riley herself said, between laughs. The whole team's faces lit up. _

"_Check please." Greg said, sensing now was the time to end this, before more bugs were discovered. _

_It was times like that that made Riley love her job, and the friends that came along with it._

Riley splashed her face with some more water, before grabbing some paper towel from the dispenser noisily. She was happy nobody else was in the bathroom, she hated feeling weak and vulnerable.

She wiped her face before, leaning over to throw it in the small black garbage can.

Just then she heard the creak of the door. Out of instinct, she froze in place, throwing her gaze towards the corner of the mirror, where she saw someone walk inside.

But it wasn't a woman. It was a man. He was black, with dark never ending brown eyes, that were filled with hatred.

But it was what she noticed second that made her breath stop short. In his hand, barely visible from the baggy sweater that hung loosely over his figure, was a shining sliver knife.

Her breathe hitched as she jerked back into a standing position. She had no idea why, but she froze.

The man took a step forwards and she managed to shuffle backwards, trying to think clearly.

He stepped forwards again, and it was then that she remembered her gun. Riley moved her arm to grab it out of the holster, but the man closed the gap between them in mere seconds, pushing it out of her hand.

She heard it clatter to the floor, but wasn't about to look, as he now had her shoved against the green tiled wall. Her head pounded from where it had struck, and her heart raced as she looked into his eyes.

"Get off me." She said harshly, and tried to get out of his grasp. He fought back, and put one hand on each of her arms, shoving them awkwardly against her chest.

"You weren't supposed to live! You were supposed to die like the innocent people you put in jail!" The man whispered fiercely. " They couldn't finish the stupid job and now I have to do it for them. I have to kill you for them."

Riley's breath began to shudder.

XXX

Nick tapped his fingers on the red wooden table, thinking about what had just happened. He listened to the clinks of the plates and cutlery in the kitchen.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when his phone buzzed on the table, annoying the people around him.

Quickly, he scrambled to pick it up, fumbling with it, before pressing the talk button.

"Stokes."

"It's Catherine. We just went to the suspects house. His mother lives there and she proved he did it." His boss and friend said on the other line.

"Good." He said, slightly relieved. Now they just had to find him.

"Nick. The guy's obsessive. He might be stalking Riley. What ever you do, _don't _let her out of your sight." Cath told him, but he wasn't listening.

No, Nick was looking towards the direction of the bathrooms, where he had just heard a large noise.

_Shit._

XXX

"I'm going to have to kill you for them." The man finished, and Riley's breath began to shudder.

She didn't know why it had taken her till now, but her police training kicked in.

With as much force as she could generate, she kneed the man in the groin, causing him to stumble backwards and move his hands down.

She punched him in the stomach, feeling his tender gut compress under the force of her hand. He grunted and looked up at her.

Faster than she could see, his fist connected with her chin, sending her spinning sideways. The pain shot through her muscles, searing every inch.

Without even looking, she turned and kicked his leg with all her strength. He tripped and she took the opportunity to shove him to the ground.

He fell on his stomach, and began to get up. Riley jumped onto him and grabbed his struggling hands as hard as she could.

She transferred them into one hand and used the other one to grab the hand cuffs the LVPD had provided her with.

She clipped them onto his wrists with some difficulty and moved to grab her gun.

And all of a sudden time went back to normal.

"Let me go, you bitch." The guy said roughly, struggling, as she continued to sit on him.

"Think twice before you attack a cop dumb ass." She spat at him, pointing her gun at his back.

Then Nick slammed the door open, his gun drawn.

"You got him." He said, more of a statement then a question.

"Yep." She replied, looking back down at the man pinned under her. She used on hand to push a strand of hair of her sweaty fore head.

"I told you, you needed protection." Nick told her, a tad bit of sarcasm intertwined in his words.

She looked at him ludicrously. "Like you were much of a help!" Riley said loudly, but saw a look of regret in his eyes. That was the last thing she wanted.

"Its fine." She said, constantly glancing down at the man under her. He seemed to have given up. "Call it in. Get Brass over here."

Nick nodded and pulled out his phone, hitting the number 6button, the one all the CSI's had as Jim on there speed dial.

Riley sighed and for the first time since she had been attacked in Illinois, felt in control of things.

**So... You like? Hope so! Please review, as it does help me write. Not to mention helps me be happy! :P ahah anyway, do you think Riley and Greg should be a couple? Idk but i think i see something between them. Let me know! :)**


	15. It Never Really Ends

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with CSI...If I did this would be a season 11 episode :)_

**Fingerprints.**

It Never Really Ends.**  
**

Greg slammed his car door behind him, walking briskly across the diner's parking lot. A lot had happened in this diner. He had laughed with friends, worked on cases, and met up with witnesses. Not to mention Nicks car being stolen. But this by far, was the worst. Riley had been attacked.

He continued across the pavement, ignoring Nick and Brass's annoyed stares. He had a different person he needed to talk to.

Riley was sitting on the bench outside the shining windows, staring at him.

She stood up as he reached her, but he pulled her into a hug. He needed to feel her safe in his arms. This had been a ridiculously long and stressful ordeal for her and the team.

When he loosened his grip after a few silent seconds she pulled back a dazed look on her pale face. There was a small scrape above her left eyebrow and bruises on her wrists. But other than that, she looked fine.

"I'm sorry." He said only to get a confused expression look back at him. "I should have called you immediately or I...I should have been with you, I'm sorry."

Riley sighed. "Greg. You need to stop blaming yourself for everything that goes wrong. You couldn't have done anything. Nobody could have." She stated, putting a forceful hand on his shoulder. Wait... wasn't he supposed to be the one comforting _her_?

Greg thought about what she said. He didn't blame himself for everything. No. Not at all. And he only realized it now, but the only times he blamed himself, was when it had something to do with Riley. Why? He didn't know. Maybe because she had been his best friend. Maybe because she had left. Who knew.

He nodded at her, defeated.

"Are you okay though?" Greg asked her, his eyes tracing her face, seeing the years of stress and danger engraved on her delicate features.

Riley seemed to contemplate the question in her head, glancing at the ground.

"Yeah. Dumb-ass thinks he can assault a cop." She told him, making eye contact.

"Heard about that. Your a tough bitch huh?" He joked, managing to make her smirk. She started walking alongside him, back towards the cars and other CSIs.

Once they made it back to the cars, they walked to where Nick, Brass and Sara were standing.

Almost immediately Nick opened his mouth.

"I-" He started before he was hushed by Riley.

"Save it. Greg's done enough apologizing for the both of you. I'm not mad, I promise."

Nick just looked at her for a moment before nodding.

Sara stepped towards Riley, pulling her camera off her neck.

"I know," Riley told the other woman. "I'm evidence."

Sara smirked her signature Sidle smile, before leading Riley back to her car.

Greg glanced at Nick. He seemed reserved and taken aback. He knew Riley meant well. And yes, she could be harsh. But wasn't that what they'd been missing this whole time?

XXX

Ray watched carefully as the man who assaulted Riley was escorted down the hall of LVPD.

His dark eyes were overflowing with anger and hatred. Brass was holding his handcuffs from behind him, being overly cautious.

Ray made eye contact with Raphael as he passed by, getting a death glare as he did.

Once they made it to a holding cell, Bras handed him off to another officer and took a few steps to walk beside Ray.

"You know, I had been hoping that this would be over every minute after Ecklie called me." Brass grumbled, and Ray tried not to let the minor shock show on his face. Since when did Jim talk about personal stuff?

After sighing, Ray nodded. "Me too."

They walked towards Brass's office, listening to their own footsteps.

"Sometimes," He started slowly, looking at Brass. "I find it hard to believe what people can do to each other."

The police chief paused an looked at him. He nodded, and his fore head furrowed.

"Yeah. Makes you wish you had the easy cases." He told Ray, s miniscule smirk forming on his face.

"None of them are easy Jim."

XXX

The CSIs were in a daze. This was the hardest case in a long time. Now that it was over, they didn't know what to do.

Sara sat at the bar with Nick, drowning her stress like so many times before.

The alcohol burned her throat as she gulped down the third one that hour. She used to drink after every hard case. Then Grissom saved her from alcoholism and she was happy again. But now that they were miles apart, she had fallen back into the old habit.

She barely knew Riley. So why was she drinking? Why had this taken such a toll on her? Why was she even asking herself these questions?

She'd been doing that alot lately. Asking herself pointless questions about life. But she couldn't help it. Without Grissom, everything was different. Not just different, but really messed up. She barely saw him, just a video chat every once in a while. And the team wasn't the same either. It lacked a certain...element. It was like Grissom had been the glue.

And now that the team had been reunited (although in a bad way) with an old member of the team, one that she'd never met... Well she didn't know what to think.

So she drank.

/

Nick felt the dizzying effects of the beer settle in as he drank it slowly. He was barely paying attention to Sara, who sat beside him, staring at the wall. The same thing he was doing.

What was he supposed to do? I mean, really. Riley had been kidnapped, smuggled into Vegas, held captive, then held at gun point, only to be attacked by a third person. All the while, with the team one step behind.

Nick liked Riley. He did. She was an incredible friend. And after all the shit that just happened, he just chose to drink. It helped him get away from everything.

And that's exactly what he needed.

/

Ray leaned back in his chair, staring at his desk. He felt like he was in some, strange story book. There had been a suspenseful, and not to mention eventful, incident, but there was no ending.

It was like the author had just given up. No happy ending, or even a sad one. But what actually ended in this job? It was a continuous circle, and they were just along for the ride.

If he could do anything, he would go back in time and stop the three idiots who decided to do this to Riley. But he couldn't.

Nobody could.

/

Catherine climbed into bed, the promise of sleep incredibly tempting. Her eyes floated closed and she tried to get her thoughts to do the same.

But they wouldn't. They past few days flashed by, and she couldt shake the feeling that something was off.

Not just in this case. But for the team in general. Saying the night shift CSIs were incident prone was an understatement. And that got to her.

What more was going to happen? How many more of them would be hurt, put in danger and emotionally scarred? What had happened to make them deserve that?

The questions wouldn't go away, and neither would the extremely uncomfortable feeling of worry.

Worry for her makeshift, stupidly over stressed but beautiful family.

/

Riley couldn't shake the feeling that she was alone. Utterly alone.

She sat up in bed for the 7th time, feeling the light sheets slip off her shoulders. The warm breeze from her cracked open window blew over her face, slightly soothing.

The alarm clock said it was 3 a.m.. Exactly 14 minutes from the last time she sat up,thought then gave in and lay back down.

But not this time. She had been through enough fucked up stuff for the rest of her life, just in the last 48 hours.

She didn't want to be alone right now. This had been the place where she had felt the most accepted. With the most friends she'd ever had. So why, now that she was back, was she alone?

She stood up, finally letting herself relax ever so slightly.

She wasn't going to be alone.

/

Greg sighed into the arm of his couch, leaning his head on it. The lights were off. So was the tv, radio and clock. The ticking was annoying.

The occasional creak of his apartment ceiling was the only noise he heard, But he liked it that way. He could think.

Not that his thoughts were pleasant, or comforting for that matter. And yet he wanted to think about them. He had a lot to think about.

Out of nowhere the doorbell chimed loudly. He jumped, his head hitting the couch hard. _Ow._

It couldn't be a neighbour, solicitor or work friend. So it could only be one person.

He padded towards the door in his socks an jeans, not bothering to put a shirt on. He didn't need to.

Pulling the door towards him, he stood face to face with exactly the person that was the center of all of his thoughts.

Riley had her arms crossed across her chest, one hand on her neck. It was an odd gesture, especially for her. He'd never seen her nervous or self conscious.

He blonde hair flowed over her shoulders messily, her make-up smudged.

"Come on in." He muttered.

She looked at him apologetically.

"You know what, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have bothered you." She said, moving to walk away.

Within seconds he jerked forwards, grabbing her arm.

"If I didn't want you here, I wouldn't have told you to come in Riley. And honestly, I knew you were coming." He told her softly, loosening his grip as she stood in place.

Riley nodded to herself, seemingly to increase her own confidence.

They stepped into his apartment, like they had so many times a few years ago.

She settled onto his couch, him sitting beside her.

And just like that she broke down. The tears overflowed and her hand fluttered to her face, trying not to let him see.

Greg's heart shattered in his chest. He held her shoulders and pulled her towards him, leaning back to pull her into a reassuring hug.

Gently, he felt her lean her head on his chest, the sobs shuddering her whole body.

"Its okay." He whispered in her ear. "It'll all be okay."

So they lay there on his couch, him comforting her, her trusting him with her true emotions.

And Greg couldn't help but hug Riley as tight as he humanly could.

XXX

"_Tears are the words the heart can't say." -Anonymous._

_**The End.**_

**Finally done. Please review, and im happy to write a sequel. Maybe one for Riley and Greg. Lemme know please. 3**


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